Stuck Landing
by HeyLegolas
Summary: Matthew is excited when he hears that his Ukrainian pen pal will be coming to America for the Olympics, and drags his brother along to meet her for the first time. Little does he know that Katyusha's sister is bad news. 2nd in Olympic!talia series. AmeBel, Ukranada.
1. Chapter 1

_Прыгожая (__pryhožaja__) – Beautiful (Belarusian)_

The first time Alfred saw her, she didn't seem to notice him. Of course, this was untrue; she noticed everything. But as Alfred and Matthew watched the two gymnasts practising from the gallery, they noted that the silver haired girl appeared to be completely absorbed in her work. Everything she did was executed with technical perfection.

"So which one's her? Katy... whatever." the American asked his brother. Matthew had _insisted _that Alfred came with him for his first meeting with his pen-pal of two years.

"Katyusha. She's the taller one, with the slightly darker hair in a plait," the Canadian started to look nervous, "I almost can't believe I'm meeting her in real life... hey, that means the other one must be Natalia, her half sister- I didn't know she was here too! Al, did I tell you that we're the same in that aspect too-"

"About a million times, Matt. Calm down, you look like you're about to explode! _I'm_ meant to be the over excited one!"

The blond smiled and blushed slightly. "I'm sorry... I still can't believe Katyusha is really here! Hey, did you know that her real name is Ekaterina, but Katyusha is like a diminutive form of it?"

Alfred sighed. Yes, he did know this, as well as literally every other detail about his brother's internet pen pal. His brother had always been very introverted and quiet, but he could talk about his Ukrainian friend for hours on end. At first, he didn't like the idea of his little brother talking to strangers online- but then he saw how _happy_ he was. How his face lit up whenever he got an email. How when he heard her cheery, mellifluous voice for the first time over the phone, he didn't stop smiling for three days.

How when he found out she was coming to compete in the Olympics in America, he fell off his chair.

Yeah... he had a right to be excited to meet her.

Alfred's eyes wandered back to the sister, Natalia. While Katyusha was quite pretty, Natalia was something else entirely. She couldn't have been more than five foot four, but her presence seemed to fill the room. Her face was delicate, from what he could see from the gallery, and although her hair was tied in a high bun, the platinum blonde strands still shined brightly. The ribbons in her hands bowed to her command, winding in intricate loops and coils around her as she danced, and in one fluid movement they were thrown into the air, their handler running hard and somersaulting once, twice, before landing and catching the ribbons with an illusion of ease, her feet not moving from where they had hit the ground. But while Katyusha performed with a smile on her face, Natalia's expressions were fixed with grim determination, and her eyes were dark.

Alfred was fascinated.

Third-wheeling at a cafe wasn't really Alfred's idea of fun. At the end of Katyusha and Natalia's training session, the Ukrainian had run up to the gallery and bear hugged Matthew, nattering away through happy tears. The girl with the platinum blond hair had gathered her things and swept past them, exiting wordlessly. Now just the three of them were sharing a table at a quiet place Matthew had chosen. Alfred sipped on his coffee and leaned back into his chair. As well as his coffee, he had ordered the most obnoxiously coloured cupcake he could find; Katyusha had chosen a slice of Victoria sponge ("don't tell my coach though, he'll go nuts!"); Matthew had asked for "the normal, please, thank you", which turned out to be freshly made pancakes with maple syrup. _He's so Canadian_, Alfred couldn't help but smile at his brother.

"Katyusha, I didn't know Natalia was coming too." Alfred's attention snapped back to the conversation at the mention of Ekaterina's sister.

"Oh, yes, she qualified too! One of the girls on the Belarusian team got injured during practise, so she's on the team instead now."

"Hang on, so you're both going to the Olympics?" Alfred asked.

"Yes, that's right. Unlikely, I know, but correct!"

"But representing different countries?"

"Yes, me and Nata have different fathers, much like Matt and yourself." Katyusha shrugged.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Oh, speaking of her, what was with her today? She looked kinda angry." Alfred could practically feel his brother shy away from the impolite wording of the sentence. Katyusha responded nonetheless.

"She was frustrated because she couldn't get one of the movements perfect."

"She looked amazing though!" _Her performance, I mean, _ Alfred thought.

"I know, both me and our coach told her so. But she doesn't listen. She goes through the same routine every day. She needs everything to be perfect, or she's failed. My sister is obsessive- but her perfectionism does pay off." The Ukrainian noted carefully. It sounded like she had had to tell this to many people before.

"You looked beautiful when you were practising. I-I mean you still do now, of course, but, your smile and... ignore me." Matthew stammered. Katyusha smiled kindly.

"Matt, you are too sweet," she laughed when the Canadian blushed "I guess I smile when I do gymnastics because I love it. Nata does gymnastics because she needs it."

**A/N – so I'm back! Firstly I hope none of the characters are OOC because this is my first time writing them ;) **

**Also I don't speak any Belarusian (unlike Swedish which I am learning) so google translate is to blame for any mistakes in the words at the start of the chapter.**

**Also about Ukraine's name- Himaruya said Katyusha is a possible name for her and after a bit of research it turns out Katyusha is a pet name for Ekaterina, so I'll be using that as her full name.**

**See you next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Незалежны (niezaliežny) – Independant (Belarusian)_

Natalia walked home from practise alone. She should have known it was today. Although she would never openly admit any affection for her sister, the Belarusian already held a dislike to the brothers for taking what was hers.

_Focus. Don't let them interfere._

She already knew a lot about "Matthew". Her sister wouldn't stop talking about the cute Canadian boy she met online. Yes, she had memorised every detail, and he seemed harmless enough. The American was the interesting one of the pair.

When she returned to the flat, she removed her coat and shoes and dumped her bag before turning her phone back on. Her coach was strict about mobiles; usually he wouldn't allow them anywhere near the hall. For Natalia, he made the exception, as long as it was off. Advantage of being able to make the man shake with one look.

_One missed call._

She had two contacts. Katyusha and Ivan, her brother. The former had just been her, so that left Vanya.

Wrong.

_"Umm, hey, Natalia? It's Toris, umm, your brother's friend? He gave me your number." _Natalia sighed. This was the Lithuanian one that had a crush on her. The one who's fingers she broke a few years back. Ah, she remembered it well.

_"Well, you know Tino, one of his other friends? Well, umm, he's getting married soon, you know, to that Swedish guy, and I've been invited and err, well, I can't go alone to a wedding again and... you know what, ignore this. I'm sorry, um, for wasting-your-time-bye." _The last few words were rushed and the message ended as soon as the last syllable left Toris' lips.

"Good, you're learning." She muttered as she turned the phone back off. Sinking down into a chair, she turned the small television on, only to switch it off a few moments later. _Bored. _America was meant to be exciting, wasn't it? That's what she had heard. But really, this city was just like her own, but more crowded and with more neon lights. _Of course, I could do what I usually do when bored in Minsk... as long as I'm careful, America shouldn't be any different..._

Alfred was growing tired of the conversation. Sure, Katyusha was pretty interesting- she had seemingly endless anecdotes from her travels- but sitting in a cafe for hours was a cup of tea that had grown no sweeter to the American.

"Hey, Mattie, I forgot, I need to get home, for, uh... my boss! She's going to phone me about... important... stuff."

Matthew didn't believe any of it.

"Oh, really? That's a shame."

_He's giving me the look oh no oh no he's doing the thing he's gonna be mad at me-_

"I'll see you tonight, then."

"It is nice meeting you, Alfred." Katyusha stood to give Alfred a hug before he left.

The streets were in that dusky evening phase where it was not dark enough to turn on the streetlamps, but the sun was low enough to cast long, eerie shadows across the buildings. Alfred walked quickly.

The street where he lived had many alleys and side passages, and most of the inhabitants knew to keep their distance from the entrances. Hearing noises in the alley usually wasn't a good sign.

"Hey, is anyone in there?" the blond paused and peered into the dark passageway, "It's not safe, anyone could get you- Jesus Christ!" as his eyes adjusted to the light, he could just make out two figures; one appeared to be holding the other at knife-point. Heroic instincts kicking in, Alfred decided to try and interfere. But before he could think to take a step, the attacker had ran past him, into the street.

_Do I chase them, or check the victim?_

_She doesn't look hurt... and if i don't get going soon, I'll never catch them..._

Alfred suddenly felt thankful for the hours of track and field lessons his school had forced him through. His target was fast, but rather conveniently, he was faster.

He'd unceremoniously rugby-tackled the attacker by the end of the street.

"Get off me!" the surprisingly feminine voice struggled against Alfred's grip. He loosened it slightly in alarm. Keeping a firm grip on her arm, the American pulled back to look at her face, and immediately recognised her to be-

"Natalia?"

"Out of _all_ people to catch me, it had to be someone who fucking knew who I was!" she tested his hold on her arm, disappointed that it was still tight.

"Natalia, why are you... are you a _murder_?" he gasped.

"Of course not! I wouldn't kill a person!" The Belarusian looked disgusted, "I just... I'm so bored."

"So you mug people?"

"Hey, I don't hurt them! I just take stuff."

"Oh, you _just_ take stuff! Natalia, you're an Olympian, you can't attack people-"

"You say it as if it's a synonym for 'good person'." The girl smiled dryly.

"Well you should be! You're meant to be a role model-"

"And I will be if no one else finds out about this," Natalia took advantage of the American's momentarily loosened grip to yank her arm free, "If you really want to be all goody two shoes, wait until after the Olympics. Then you can have me arrested all you want."

"But that's not right! Hey, I've never actually even spoken to you before, what do I care if you get locked up?"

The Belarusian looked him up and down.

"You care because you like me and you want some excitement in your life. Something more exciting than third wheeling your brother and my sister." She replaced her knife in one of the inside pockets of her coat and looked Alfred straight in the eyes before nonchalantly walking away.

Alfred didn't know what he had just gotten himself into, but boy, it wasn't going to be boring.

**A/N – Hello readers. I haven't really had a lot of time so that's why this chapter was so late. I'm having a lot of fun with these characters- I always imagine Alfred as a lawful good with a hero complex, and Natalia as someone who gets bored easily and doesn't feel guilty for her actions. I'm still not really used to them though, so I'm sorry if they appear OOC!**

**Today was my induction day at my college, and it was great! But when term starts I won't be posting as often, unfortunately.**


End file.
